LIMITED TIME OFFER!

FREE BOOK WITH DONATION

Before Busing: A History of Boston's Long Black Freedom Struggle

For a limited time and as supplies last, the first 20 supporters to make a $60+ donation will receive a copy of Zebulon Vance Miletsky's Before Busing.

Before Busing tells the story of the men and women who struggled and demonstrated to make school desegregation a reality in Boston. It reveals the legal efforts and battles over tactics that played out locally and influenced the national Black freedom struggle. And the book gives credit to the Black organizers, parents, and children who fought long and hard battles for justice that have been left out of the standard narratives of the civil rights movement. What emerges is a clear picture of the long and hard-fought campaigns to break the back of Jim Crow education in the North and make Boston into a better, more democratic city—a fight that continues to this day

Email your receipt to hola@tagassociation.org with your shipping information to secure your copy!

The TAG Association is proud to partner with the Boston Desegregation & Busing Initiative and the Boston Desegregation Mobile Museum, LLC, to bring an essential part of Boston’s history to life. As the Museum’s fiscal sponsor, TAG Association receives and administers charitable contributions in support of this important work.

The bus is operational and on the road. Now, we must complete the buildout that will transform it into a fully realized mobile museum—one capable of carrying Boston’s desegregation history into schools, neighborhoods, community gatherings, and public events across Greater Boston.

THE BOSTON DESEGREGATION MOBILE MUSEUM

Focusing on the landmark 1974 Boston school desegregation decision, the Boston Desegregation Mobile Museum uses one of the era’s most universal and poignant symbols—a school bus—to advance education, restorative justice, historic preservation, and community healing.

Once fully built out, the bus will feature multiple micro-exhibits and interactive simulations that help visitors understand the experiences of the children, families, educators, and communities shaped by desegregation. By bringing this history directly into communities, the Museum will create opportunities to learn across generations, engage in honest dialogue, and work toward a more equitable future.

With the generous support of Mr. César Ruiz, we secured the school bus and placed it into operation. We continue to raise funds toward the $200,000 needed to complete the Museum’s interior buildout, exhibits, educational experiences, and long-term operations.

Contributions made through TAG Association in support of the Boston Desegregation Mobile Museum are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

THE MUSEUM IS ALREADY ON THE ROAD

The Boston Desegregation Mobile Museum is already demonstrating what becomes possible when history moves beyond walls and directly into community.

Thanks to the generous sponsorship of the NAACP Boston Branch, the bus was featured at Boston’s Juneteenth celebration in Franklin Park on Saturday, June 20, 2026. Mayor Michelle Wu and Governor Maura Healey both toured the bus, experiencing firsthand how this mobile learning space can bring Boston’s desegregation history to life, invite dialogue across generations, and create a memorable learning experience for all.

Mayor Michelle Wu (pictured above) and Governor Maura Healey tour the Boston Desegregation Mobile Museum during Boston’s Juneteenth celebration in Franklin Park on June 20, 2026. Photo credit: [NAME].

The bus is operational and available for community events, educational programs, and public gatherings now—even as we continue raising the funds needed to complete its interior buildout, micro-exhibits, interactive simulations, and full educational experience.

BRING THE MUSEUM TO YOUR NEXT EVENT

The Boston Desegregation Mobile Museum is available for rental for school programs, community events, conferences, festivals, organizational gatherings, and other educational and cultural experiences.

Secure the Boston Desegregation Mobile Museum for your next event and create a memorable learning experience for all. For rental information, availability, sponsorship opportunities, or ways to support the Museum’s continued buildout, contact hola@tagassociation.org.

The TAG Association, Inc. serves as the Museum’s fiscal sponsor, receiving and administering charitable contributions in support of its development and educational mission.

WHY A MOBILE MUSEUM—AND WHY NOW?

Boston residents deserve opportunities to learn and understand our history with school desegregation—and its continuing impact on our city, our schools, and our communities.

Boston still lacks a central, permanent institution dedicated to interpreting the city’s Civil Rights history, including school desegregation. Boston Public Schools also lacks a districtwide curriculum centered on Boston history. As a result, thousands of students have left our schools without fully understanding Boston’s role in the Civil Rights struggle or the profound ways desegregation shaped generations of children and families.

This history should not remain inaccessible, fragmented, or untold. A mobile museum allows us to bring it directly to the people: meeting students and communities where they are, connecting past and present, and creating the conditions for learning, reflection, reconciliation, and action.

THE LONG-TERM VISION

We envision a Boston with a permanent interpretive center dedicated to the city’s Civil Rights history, with the Boston Desegregation Mobile Museum serving as its on-the-road ambassador.

With a particular focus on Boston’s schoolchildren, the Museum will help address a significant gap in today’s educational curricula while promoting racial reconciliation and community building across Greater Boston. An intergenerational team reflective of Boston’s communities—including people who experienced desegregation firsthand—will welcome visitors, share lived history, and learn alongside the next generation.

THE PARTNERS

The TAG Association, Inc., whose mission is to elevate the Latino community through education, art, and culture, serves as the Boston Desegregation Mobile Museum’s fiscal sponsor and a lead partner in the initiative. For more information, visit www.tagassociation.org.

The Boston Desegregation & Busing Initiative, a partner in the project, works to illuminate the history of school desegregation in Boston while fostering dialogue and action toward a more inclusive future. For more information, visit www.bostondesegregation.org.

The Boston Desegregation Mobile Museum

Bringing an immersive historical experience to Boston

Team Members